extend warranty, theft recovery, fabric protection?

[dulog]

My fiance and got a new 3s hatchback yesterday and its been a fun weekend getting to know it and showing it off to friends. It's a big step up for us and our favorite out of the cars we tried. We paid $18,276 for it and it has the sport automatic trans, ABS/sidebags, Moonroof/6cd and of course the sport package since it's a hatch. Supposedly that's a couple hundred under "invoice" and right at the consumer reports wholesale price is for these options. Didn't have to haggle either, just worked with this guy who was in charge of the internet sales at a nearby dealership and he didn't pressure us with any cars or options and was willing to order us anything but this one on the lot had the options we wanted and was my fiance's favorite color -- strato blue. I like the color too though I must say I think I like that titanium maybe a little more and I'd be pretty happy with a few of the other colors too.

Making our final decision on which 3 to get and getting the pricing information was totally no pressure but of course at the end we still had to go through the finance/business manger to do the final paperwork even though we were pre approved for 2.9% loan through the credit union. We were offered several extra warranties and services at that point. I asked if any of these things we had to decide on that day and he admitted no, but we would need to if we wanted to get these things added to our loan. I decided to pass on everything since we were approved for the loan at the price that our internet sales guy had gotten us and I didn't want to add more. I did tell him I'd think it over but figured that most likely these things aren't worth it. We would like to keep the car for hopefully 8-10 years, but who knows what the future will bring. I'm wondering if anyone thinks any of these things are worthwhile.
-7k 100,000 mile warranty at $1800
-Interior fabric and exterior paint protection to protect against chipping and fading for I think 5-6 hundred (not sure how long the period was, will try to find that out.
-$249 theft recovery service that had to do with the etching on the window being able to help them track down the car and if it was not recovered (or maybe was trashed??) they would pay us $5000 in addition to whatever our insurance got us.
I'd be really interested to know what people in this forum thought of these extras. This is the first time I've ever bought a new car so any advice on how to deal with the dealers post sale when it comes to iffy warranty/normal wear tear type issues would be much appreciated. THANKS!

 

[genericuser]

I'm getting the extended warrenty only because I put a LOT of miles on the car.

I would reccommend the paint protection. You can do without the fabric protection. The paint protection is a teflon coating over the entire car, which is handy. However, it does not give you protection against chips and nicks as your dealer told you. It only protects against fading and weather damage. I would still reccommend it, especially with the thin paint on newer cars.

I hope that answers your questions.

 

[ingreenSD]

dulog,

just bought a mazda 3 last week and took none of their options. you did the smart thing by walking away. usually if they offer you that stuff by saying 'it's only $12 more dollars per payment' its because the bank has approved you for a lower interest rate then what the dealer is giving you. here are my reasons i said no to all that stuff:

1) extended warranty-not gonna pay extra for something already included. i plan to keep the car, but if i trade it in, im SURE they are going to give me more because of my warranty.

2) lo-jack/gps 2000 with security system. i live in san diego. if it gets stolen its going to mexico. (he lowered my interest rate so much that it came out to +$6.00 per paymnet on this. sound good? it was $1300 added to final cost of car BEFORE taxes.)

3)TPS protection didn't do the teflon thing. everyone on the forum sez the paings going to chip anyway so i didn't bother with it. I did put it on our MPV we bought in 03 and it actually works great, but you can have it done for cheaper if you shop around.

4) GAP insurance. was paying the car off anway, didn't need it.

dulog, i hope i didn't come across as having a bad attitude with these extras, IMHO i think its a big gip in general. (cept for the teflon/scothguard)

anyhow, ranting aside, CONGRATS on your mazda 3!!. i still can't get over how much quality, convenience, and styling they stuffed into that thing. (lol2)

 

[dulog]

Thanks for the input both of you. I may shop around a bit for other teflon paint protection kind of things but don't know if I'll go for it considering it won't cover chips.

Regardless, as far as taking care of the paint what do you suggest doing as far as washing and waxing? It rains frequently where I live and luckily I have a secure garaged parking spot for this baby, but unfortunatley I don't have an outside place where I can wash it (I'm at an apartment complex in a downtown area). Any suggestions as to what kind of car washes to go to, what kind of wax to use, how often?

 

[The Other Tom]

FWIW, Consumer Reports advises against buying these things, esp. the paint
"protection" and the theft thingy. You can buy an extended warranty anytime, from several different sources. I'd walk away from all the add-ons.

 

[ingreenSD]

car washing

that my friend is a good question LOL. i live in socal and just recently bought a house. until then it was apts and a condo. i never washed my own car, always taking it to the 'hand wash' places. so i too am wondering what to use. i saw some car washing kits at COSTCO but am holding off for now. i have also been searching past threads to find out what works best. all i have been able to find out is orange windex works on the textured plastic moldings on the interior.

 

[genericuser]

I have that new thing that mr clean makes, the self drying one.. it's a pain in the ass to use sometimes, but it does a good job.

 

[YellowMP5]

a lot of police departments as well as maybe your local AAA office do free window etching of the VIN. so don't pay $250 for it. there is always some catch that basically will prevent you from getting the $5k from them so i am 99.9% sure its not worth it.but find out what details of the deal just in case.

don't get any options that they offer, they are tottally useless. and don't add options like that to your loan either. its just increases the cost of them. remember, you don't just pay in installments, you also pay interest on that. you gotta be crazy to do that. say no to dru... i mean dealer add-on value options.

 

[dulog]

Thanks for all the help.

The loan's a done deal. We didn't want to add to it. Since the guy admitted we could purchace them separately I figured I'd ask around about them and if any of the things got an overwhelming yes then I'd seriously consider buying them straight up (actually probably charge them, tranfer to a 0% teaser rate card and try to pay off quickly). I appreciate the input and ideas and I'm definately not sold on these things at this point from what people have said.

With that in mind there are a few other things I'm starting to kick around the idea of: First is getting the windows tinted a bit darker, second I heard there is some kind of 3m product that you can put on that actually does help prevent chips, third is some kind of alarm system. Is there really some kind of 3m stuff that's supposed to protect against chips and is it any good? What should I keep in mind when looking for a place to have these kind of things done? Just trying to keep things looking nice here so I'd still appreciate advice for washing and waxing for someone living in a city apartment with no hose to use. Sorry if this is straying off the topic to much. If I should post this somewhere else or look elsewhere for some of this stuff let me know. In my mind it kinda relates but maybe it doesn't.

 

[bvmazda3]

I have that new thing that mr clean makes, the self drying one.. it's a pain in the ass to use sometimes, but it does a good job.

I was gonna buy that setup - what part of it is a pain in the ass? I'm glad to hear it does a good job, tho.

 

[genericuser]

basically the way it works is that a water filter made by PUR gets rid of all the mineral deposits in the water that cause waterspots.. the only pain in the ass part is that you have to hit every inch of the car with the filtered water in order to avoid the water spots.